Exploring the layered meanings of Sansa Stark’s coronation gown

Of all the characters on Game of Thrones, Sansa Stark may have come the furthest since season 1, a sentiment echoed by showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. Fans have seen Sansa transform from a naive girl who will do anything to be queen to a strong, empowered woman who actually deserves the title.

In the series finale, Sansa’s journey is captured perfectly by her coronation attire, which has far more meaning behind its design than first meets the eye. Not only is Sansa’s dress during her “Queen in the North” scene full of symbolism that speaks to her journey over the course of the series, but even smaller details, like her hairstyle, make strong statements about her character’s growth.

That’s the nature of most of costume designer Michele Clapton’s work on this show, but she really outdid herself with Sansa’s final piece. Clapton even made a cameo during Sansa’s coronation scene, as one of the woman helping Sansa put on the garment.

Clapton provided some insight into the dress on her Instagram account. Let’s get into it:

One fascinating detail fans wouldn’t know at first glance is that Sansa’s coronation gown is cut from the same material as two other dresses in the series, both of which important to Sansa’s journey. The first is her “Dark Sansa” dress from season 4. This ties Sansa back to her time in the Vale with Littlefinger and her aunt Lysa. And while this period is hardly a high point in Sansa’s life, it had a significant impact on her. No matter how Littlefinger eventually betrayed her, Sansa learned a great deal under his tutelage. Her days in the Eyrie are when fans first see Sansa begin to play the game of thrones.

Sansa’s coronation gown also includes fabric from the dress Margaery Tyrell wore when she married Joffrey Baratheon. Although they didn’t have much time together, Sansa learned plenty from the Tyrells before leaving King’s Landing. Margaery is also one of the few — possibly the only — morally upright role model Sansa had after her father died. For her coronation as Queen in the North, it’s fitting that Sansa should pay homage to another queen who ruled intelligently and mercifully.

One of the elements that immediately stands out about Sansa’s gown are the references to weirwood trees, which hold major significance in the North. Weirwood trees represent the old gods, and fans get frequent glimpses of the Starks praying near the weirwood tree at Winterfell throughout the series. Ned is sitting under it in the premiere episode, and Bran spent a lot of time there after his return home.

The bodice of Sansa’s dress is made up of growing weirwood branches, forming what looks like a metal breastplate over the actual gown itself. And if you look closely, the material of the dress also has a number of red leaves running across it.

If any of the Stark children places value on the beliefs and traditions of her family — and of the North in general — it’s Sansa. This is why subtle references to weirwood trees can be found all over her coronation gown, signaling that she’s still upholding the values and beliefs of the northerners.

As if referencing the weirwood trees doesn’t show off Sansa’s true northern colors enough, her gown also contains plenty of allusions to her family’s direwolf sigil. From afar, the pattern of the dress looks quilted, but a closer look at Sansa’s sleeves reveals the pointed shapes found in the grey direwolf design associated with the Starks.

The cloak Sansa wears during this scene also has a wolf’s head on the edge of its feathers, a direct reference to Lady, the direwolf she lost in the second episode of the show. These two allusions to Sansa’s sigil obviously show that she’s proud to be a Stark, but they do more than that. With Jon sent beyond the wall, Bran ruling as king in the south, and Arya traveling west, Sansa is the only Stark left in Winterfell. We know she takes that role seriously. Her costume is a reminder of that.

One accessory that Sansa’s been wearing a lot during season eight is her needle necklace, a piece made from a sewing needle that’s clearly meant to contrast Arya’s Needle sword. Sansa’s often been shown wearing this necklace with her leather armor top. It seems to emphasize her willingness to fight and defend herself, even if it’s not in the same direct way that Arya would.

Sansa is still sporting her needle during her coronation scene, even if it’s significantly less noticeable than in previous moments. During her final scene, the necklace’s chain is off Sansa’s waist. After all, Sansa’s fight to obtain independence for the North might be over, but there are always other battles. Best to remain prepared.

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Sansa’s coronation gown says plenty about her character, but let’s not forget her hairstyle. As Vox points out, Sansa has spent a good chunk of Game of Thrones modeling her hairstyle after whoever has the most influence over her at the time.

During the earlier seasons, Sansa often wears elaborate updos that resemble those of Cersei and Margaery. She dyes her hair darker when she’s in the Vale with Littlefinger, and she even begins wearing braided styles when Daenerys arrives in Winterfell. In fact, there’s hardly a powerful player whose hairstyle Sansa hasn’t copied at some point.

During her coronation, though, Sansa’s hair is lacking any elaborate design. Instead, she wears it down and simple, perhaps to symbolize that she’s no longer taking leadership lessons from anyone else in the series. After all, she’s outlived and outsmarted most of the people who have influenced her. Sansa has become her own person capable of making her own strategic decisions, about her hair and otherwise.

Of course, her connection to Cersei isn’t entirely gone. While Sansa’s crown is modeled after her direwolf sigil in the front, the back looks strikingly like Cersei’s crown at first glance. Like it or not, Cersei helped to mould Sansa’s leadership style, although Sansa’s approach is all her own.

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h/t Business Insider